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Red Clay Educators
You may be wondering, why Red Clay? When I was 9, my grandfather took me home to Cuthbert, Georgia for the first time. To see the house he built. The house where my father and my uncles and aunt were born and the community where they were raised. Grandpa warned me to stay off the dirt road in my white socks. He said the red clay would never come out no matter how much I washed them. That feeling of permanence associated with the red clay earth stayed with me throughout my life. Red from the blood of my ancestors who lived, loved, and continually fought for freedom and equality. I believe in the permanence of discussions about race and the indelible imprint they create like the red clay of Cuthbert, Georgia. When we learn to talk and teach about race well, we are able to make real transformative change.
Antiracist Reading Revolution
“When can we move beyond representation to liberation?” This question from a young Black girl moved New York Times #1 bestselling author Dr. Sonja Cherry‑Paul to offer a vision for antiracist teaching that goes far beyond adding diverse texts in a classroom library. Antiracist Reading Revolution provides an actionable antiracist teaching framework and models how K-8 educators can create opportunities for transformative reading and discussions in classrooms.
Selected Publications
Stamped (for Kids)
RACE. Uh-oh. The R-word.
But actually talking about race is one of the most important things to learn how to do.
Adapted from the groundbreaking bestseller Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, this book takes readers on a journey from present to past and back again. Kids will discover where racist ideas came from, identify how they impact America today, and meet those who have fought racism with antiracism. Along the way, they’ll learn how to identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their own lives.
Ibram X. Kendi’s research, Jason Reynolds’s and Sonja Cherry‑Paul’s writing, and Rachelle Baker’s art come together in this vital read, enhanced with a glossary, timeline, and more.
From Learning Loss to a Liberatory Mindset
When educators go beyond the learning loss narrative, they can create a more equitable curriculum guided by engagement and cultural relevancy.
Breathing New Life into Book Clubs
Whether you’re looking to breathe new life into book clubs or begin implementing them in your classroom, Sonja and Dana give you essential strategies to make book clubs work. “Because book clubs,” they write, “are where students fall in love with reading.”
Let’s Work Together
The work of equity and antiracism is not linear; it is iterative and ongoing. It requires collaboration to determine short- and long-term goals and a vision of equity. It requires research and data driven approaches to identify inequities within structures and systems that impact the lives of individuals and groups of people. It requires a comprehensive view to develop the specific strategies that lead to transformational change. And it requires multifaceted accountability measures to evaluate the effectiveness of our work and to plan for next steps.
Sonja Cherry‑Paul works with:
- Schools and districts
- Educators
- Publishers
- Organizations
- Conferences
- Authors
If you’d like to further explore the possibilities of us working together including keynote addresses, workshops, and author visits, click here.